The present invention relates to the field of fenestration products and, more particularly, to an operating assembly used to swing open and closed the sash of a casement window.
Casement windows employ a sash that swings open and closed about an upright axis along one vertical edge of the sash. Operator assemblies for effecting that swinging motion have been available for many years in various forms. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,392,330 and 5,006,766 owned by the assignee of the present invention. Folding crank handles on such operator assemblies have also been commercially available for some time. However, such prior art arrangements have not been optimal with respect to aesthetics, ease of use, lack of interference with window treatments, reliability and other factors. Accordingly, the present invention is provided to overcome these deficiencies in the prior art and to furnish additional benefits.
The present invention provides a casement window operator assembly in which the crank handle can be folded down into a low-profile, unobtrusive storage position in which the gripping knob of the handle is fully concealed and out of the way so as to provide enhanced aesthetic appeal and avoidance of interference with various window treatments and physical contact with persons in the vicinity. The structural features and relationships of the cover and folding crank handle assembly are such that when the crank handle is folded up, it is not immediately apparent to the casual observer that the article being observed, with its graceful lines and unobtrusive appearance, can be quickly and easily transformed into a utilitarian apparatus having the function of opening and closing the sash when manually operated.
The operator of the assembly, including a linkage to the sash, a helical gear and an input worm gear, is located in a recess in the sill of the window. A trim piece on the sill is notched out to expose the operator, but a decorative cover overlies the notch to conceal the operator. Through a hole in one end of the cover, an input drive shaft from the worm gear projects outwardly and upwardly beyond the top wall of the cover where it is operably coupled with the folding crank handle assembly. An adapter or mount on the handle assembly is fixed to the drive shaft and provides a pivotal support for crank handle itself, which can thereby be swung between a folded down position essentially flush with the cover and a folded out operating position in which the handle projects outwardly from the drive shaft to assume the functional role of an operating crank. The crank handle has a knob projecting outwardly from its underside which is gripped by the user when winding the crank handle around the axis of the drive shaft to swing the sash open and closed. When the crank handle is in its folded position, the knob projects into a receiving pocket in the cover so as to allow the handle to be substantially flush against the top wall of the cover and completely within its lateral margins. A flap extension of the handle projects beyond the knob and overlies the pocket when the handle is folded down, thus completely concealing the knob and contributing to compactness of the assembly and the smooth, uncluttered and unobtrusive nature thereof.
The handle tapers in thickness as its operating end in the vicinity of the knob is approached so as to compensate for the increased height of the cover in that same area which is necessary to provide for the relatively deep, knob-receiving pocket. As a result of the thinning down of the handle in the vicinity of the knob, the installed cover and crank handle assembly assumes a generally symmetrical overall configuration when the handle is folded down. The thinned down flap portion of the handle is slightly upturned away from the knob so as to avoid interference with the user""s index finger and thumb when the knob is gripped and the handle is rotated to open or close the sash.
The pocket is provided with internal projections that serve as detents for the knob when the handle is folded down. As the knob is pushed into the recess, it engages the projections, and the interior wall of the pocket yields slightly so that a positive, secure snap action fit is sensed by the user. At the other extreme, interengaging surfaces between the mounting end of the handle and the adapter mount on the drive shaft provide positive limits for unfolding of the crank handle and serve as an indication of when the handle has been unfolded to its optimum operating position. Finger depressions in the cover on opposite sides of the pocket facilitate gripping of the thinned down flat portion by the user when the handle is to be unfolded.
One alternative embodiment of the invention includes an operator designed for use with egress windows in which the upright pivot axis of the sash remains adjacent the side of the upright frame member of the window throughout opening and closing of the sash, as contrasted to the standard situation in which the pivot axis of the sash shifts inwardly along the sill toward the mid-portion thereof and away from the upright side of the window frame as the sash is opened and closed. The worm gear of the operator is disposed close beside the helical gear and projects upwardly away from the helical gear at an oblique angle toward the cover and crank handle assembly. A long link arm fixed to the helical gear and rotatable therewith, generally in the same plane as the helical gear, transfers the rotary motion of the helical gear to the sash for swinging the sash open and closed. When the sash is closed, the long link arm lies along and generally parallel to the sill while crossing over the worm gear. A clearance hump in the arm allows the arm to rest in such a crossover relationship to the worm gear without interengaging with the worm gear or the housing in which it is contained.